Ingrain carpet fabric



(Specimens.)

W. B. KEEPER.

INGEAIN CARPET FABRIC.

N0. 444,837. Patented Jan. 20, 1891.

and useful Improvement in Ingrain Carpet rrlcn.

IVILLIAM B. KEEFER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

INGRAIN CARPET FABRIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,837, dated January 20, 1891..

Application filed August 20, 1890. Serial No. 362,490. ($peciniens To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. KEEFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new Fabrics, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention is designed as an improvement in the class of carpet fabrics termed ingrains, and has especial relation to twoply ingrain carpet fabrics.

The object of my invention is to produce a fabric on the order of a two-ply ingrain carpet fabric which may be manufactured at less cost for material than an ordinary two-ply ingrain carpet fabric of the same weight, which shall be superior to the ordinary twoply ingrain carpet fabric and more durable in wear, and which shall have increased ca pacity for ornamental shadings of ground and figure.

In weaving a two-ply ingrain carpet fabric in the manner in which such fabrics ordinarily are woven the warp-threads employed are arranged in sets of four warp-threads each, and the weft-threads are introduced in sets each composed of four weft-threads, two of the weft-threads of a set of weft-threads being combined with two of the warp-threads of a set of warp-threads in the formation of each ply, all as is well understood by those skilled in the art of weaving ingrain carpet fabrics. In the ordinary ingrain carpet fabric in those portions thereof where the fabric is not ingrained by the interchanging of the positions of the warp-threads and weft-threads of the two plies, as usually is done in figuring and producing shot-about effect, and where plain ground and plain figure appear opposite each other on the respective faces thereof, so-called pockets, are formed, owing to the fact that the two plies of the fabric in such portions are not bound together by warp and weft threads passing from one surface of the fab ric to the other, as they do in forming the figured portions and in those portions where shot-about effects are produced, but form two separate fabrics, one superimposed on the other, and in use such carpet fabric proves lacking in durability at those places.

My improved fabric may be said to be composed of more than a single ply, for it has the weft-threads thereof disposed in two weft planes, and justly may be called an ingrain carpet fabric but it differs in essential particulars from the ordinary two-ply ingrain carpet fabric.

In my fabric I use a smaller number of Warp-threads than appear in an ordinary two-ply in grain carpet fabric and at the same time an increased number of weft-threads, the warp-threads being arranged in sets of three each, while the weft-threads are in sets of five each. The weft-threads of each set lie in two weft planes, one of such planes, by preference the upper plane, containing two weft threads of that set, while the other plane, by preference the lower plane, contains the remaining three weft-threads there of, and the warp-threads of each set are so disposed in the fabric that each weft-thread in turn of the plane containing the two weftthreads is overlaid by some one warp-thread of theset, and the corresponding weft-thread or pair of weft-threads of the other plane (for in the lower plane two of the weft-threads are grouped as a pair) is underlaid by another warp-thread of the set, while the remaining warp-thread of the set lies between the upper and lower weft planes, it having previously appeared outside a weft-thread in one of the weft planes. At each change in the position of the warp-threads in the fabric one of the warp-threads passes directly from one face of the fabric to the other, thereby binding the two sides of the fabric close together and preventing the formation of pool:- ets, one warp-thread only being by preference thus changed from one face to the other in order to avoid the grinning effect which results when two warp-threads are carried in opposite directions to opposite faces.

Nearly all two-ply ingrain carpet fabrics are woven in looms having four journals, one pattern card being used in the Jacquard mechanism for each two shots of weft, all as is well known to those acquainted with the art. I can weave my improved carpet fabric with three journals. In weaving the same I use in the Jacquard mechanism one patterncard for each shot of weft.

In the accompanying drawings I have represented in Figure 1 a view of my fabric substantially as it would appear in section on a line parallel with the warp-threads, and Fig. 2 is intended as a color-chart, it serving to identify the various wefts as they appear in Fig. 1. 7

It is to be understood that the colors assigned to the weft-threads in the drawings 'and following description and to the warpthreads in the said description are merely arbitrarily selected for the purpose of the description.

In the'said drawings the three warp-threads of a set of warp-threads are represented in Fig. 1, marked with the numerals 1, 2, and

In Fig. 1 the successive sets of weft-threads are separated from each other by dotted lines, seven sets of weft-threads being represented. Itis to be understood that as many sets of warp-threads will be employed as are necessary'to the production of a carpet fabric of the desired width, and that the weft-threads of each set will in practice be disposed in the fabric'according to the requirements of the pattern.

In set No. 1 in Fig. 1 two weft-threads namely, the white and the oliveare in the upper weft plane and the remaining three namely, the black, the scarlet, and the redare in the lower weft plane. The warp-th read 1, which may be white, passes above the white weft-thread of this set; the warp-thread 2, which may be red, passes beneath the black and the scarlet weft threads, which are grouped as a pair, and the warp-thread 3, which may be black, passes between the white weft-thread and the black and the scarlet weft-threads. At the first change in the position of the warp-threads warp-thread 2 passes from beneath the black and the scarlet weft-threads to the opposite surface of the fabric, Where it overlies the olive weft-thread; warp-thread 3 passes from between thewhite and the black and-scarlet weft-threads to the under surface of the fabric, where it underlies the red weft-thread, and warp-thread 1 passes from the top surface of the fabric to the middle thereof, where it lies between the olive and the-red weft-threads.

In set No. 2 the black and the red weftthreads are in the upper weft plane and the white, thescarlet, and the olive weft-threads are in'the lower weft-plane. At the second change in the positions of the warp-threads warp-thread 3 passes from the lower surface of the fabric to the upper surface thereof and overlies the black weft-thread of set N0. 2; warp-thread 1 passes from the middle of the fabric to the under surface thereof, where it underlies the white and scarlet weft-threads of the said set, which are grouped as a pair, and the warp-thread 2passes to the middle of the fabric, where it lies between the black weft-thread and the white and scarlet weftthreads of such set. At the next change in the positions of the warp-threads warp-thread 3 passes from the upper surface of the fabric to the under surface thereof, where it underlies the olive weft-thread of such set; warpthread 2 passes from the middle of the fabric to the upper surfacethereof, where it overlies the red weft-thread of such set, and warpthread 1 passes from the under surface of the fabric to the middle thereof, where it lies between the red weft-thread and the olive weftthread of such set. I

The positions of the warp and weft threads in the remaining portions of the fabric readily can be traced out in Fig. 1. It is to be understood that, although in the drawings I have shown the first and second weftthreads of each set in that plane which contains three weft-threads grouped together as a pair, where the pattern requires a different disposition of the weft-threads the second and third weftthreads of the set in such plane may be thus grouped as a pair.

The fabric shown in Fig. 1 may be woven by various methods and arrangements of loom mechanism. 1 have in practice successfully produced the same in a loom provided with a jacquard having two lifting-boards and three journals and by operating in the following manner: For the first shot of Weftthread, the black in set No. 1, both liftingboards are raised, taking up such of the Warpthreads 1 and 3 as are selected by the card in position in the Jacquard mechanism, the j ournals remaining stationary. For the second shot of weft-thread, the white, the journal for warp-thread 1 and the back lifting-board also are raised, taking up such of the warp threads 3 as may have been selected by the card now brought into position in the Jacquard mechanism. For the third shot of Weftthread, the scarlet, both lifting-boards are raised, taking up such of warp-threads 1 and 3 as may have been selected by the card now brought into position in the Jacquard mechanism. For thefourth pick of Weft-thread, the olive, the journal for warp-thread 2 is raised, and also the back lifting-board is raised, the latter taking up such of the warpthreads 1 as may have been selected by the card nowbrought into position in the Jacquard mechanism. For the fifth shot of weft-thread, the red, the journal for warp-thread 2 and the back lifting-board are raised, the latter taking up with it such of the warp-threads 1 as may have been selected by'the card now in position in the Jacquard mechanism. The manner of operating the journals and lifting boards for the succeeding shots of weft-threads will readily be perceived by any practical. weaver and need not be recited herein. It is to be understood that the warp-threads,instead of being operated by the number of journals and lifting-boards mentioned and in the manner stated, may be controlled in position by any desired arrangement of loom mechanism, the devices employed and manner of operating the warp-threads being immaterial and forming no part of my invention, which relates wholly to the fabric itself. The

warp-threads may even be actuated by heddles when it is desired to weave a fabric in which the weft-threads are not changed in relative position and the surfaces of the fabric are plain.

My carpet fabric herein described may be manufactured of a given weight at less cost for material than the ordinary two-ply ingrain carpet fabric of the same weight, because in its production I reduce by one-fourth the number of warp-threads employed, while I can secure the desired weight by using an increased amount in the weft-threads. The worsted warp-threads employed in the best grades of carpet fabrics are more expensive than the weft-threads, and by reducing the amount of warp-threads I am enabled to reduce the actual cost of the material used, even while adding to the amount of weft-threads in a given length of fabric, by using the fifth weft-thread in each set of weft-threads. My fabric is superior to the ordinary carpet fabric, because of containinga greater amount of weft-threads to a given length, and also because of being more durable as a result of being homogeneous and without pockets, for the face and back of the fabric are firmly tied together throughout the whole fabric.

The use of five wefts gives increased capacity for ornamental shadings of ground and figure. In this latter respect my present fabric is distinguished from the fabric claimed in Letters Patent to me, dated December 23, 1890, and No. 443,095, which fabric is therein described as consisting of three warp-threads and four weft-threads in a set.

Having described my invention, I claim- An ingrain carpet fabric having two weft planes and having the warp-threads in sets of three warp-threads each and the weftthreads in sets of five weft-threads each, one plane of the weft-threads containing two weftthreads of a set and the other plane containing the remaining three weft-threads thereof, each weft-thread of the plane containing two weft-threads being bound by one of the warpthreads and the corresponding weft-thread or pair of weft-threads of the other weft plane being bound by another warp-thread, while the remaining Warp-thread lies in the middle of the fabric between the weft planes, and at each change in the position of the warpthreads one of the warp-threads passing from one face of the fabric to the other, thereby binding the two sides of the fabric together into a homogeneous fabric without pockets, substantially as described.

WILLIAM B. KEEFER.

Witnesses:

JOHN SHINN, FERDINAND L. KIBBY. 

